Losing Weight/Keeping Sanity

[yeloson]

So, right now I've dropped 20 pounds in a little over 2 months. I figured I'd share what/how/why.

First, when you talk about weight loss, it triggers 2 things. Either mindless agreement from a conditioned mind who has accepted Barbie-ism self hate, or shitty feelings from someone who's been on the bad end of that stick. In our society, I'd say 99% of all attempts or actual weight loss fall into either of those categories.

Never lose weight because you hate yourself. Because, if you succeed, at best, you'll have earned an eating disorder or a drug habit or both.

Lose weight because you love yourself AND there is practical reason to do so.

Me? I'm going to hit 30 next year, and that's when diabetes 2 spikes in the asian population. And diabetes causes your toes to fall off. And I love my toes.

Food becomes this strange thing in our society. It's a way of showing yourself that you love yourself, and at the same time, is the symbol of shame and guilt if you are overweight. Self hate cannot make you healthy. And you sure as hell can't feel good if you tie a basic survival need to self hate. Some people take that as the idea to not eat, but that's not the answer.

The answer is you have to say, "Fuck it" to the world and find a way to realize the world is insane and you're actually ok. When you can eat food without shame, guilt, or bad feelings, then you're mentally ready to lose weight. Now, I don't have a step by step program to do that. It took, me something like 10 years to get that straight, and I'm a guy, and guys get way less pressure about weight than women do. Your eating cannot be a source of love or hate- it has to be simply what it is, a necessity, and probably a pleasurable necessity, but not a substitute for an emotional thing. Because no matter how much you eat, you can't fill your heart.

The actual steps of what I'm doing is pretty simple though:

1. 3 square meals a day, no weird eat 8 times a day thing, because that's too much hassle.
2. Oatmeal for breakfast with raisins, 2 pieces of fruit.
3. Homemade veggie soup with lentils/split peas, either for lunch or dinner, (whatever I want otherwise)
4. No meals after 8 pm.
5. About 1/2 hour to hour of light to moderate exercise everyday.

I'm not cutting out entire food groups, or taking pills, I'm not doing a drastic new exercise program or anything. As far as calorie counting, I look at the labels and keep note of what foods I like that are more filling for less calories and try to eat those more often. I'm eating what a "serving" is, sometimes two, and then supplementing whatever else with fruit.

That's it.

Comments

[chreebomb.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on reaching your goals! Wow!

Also, I really like how you put weight loss in perspective re: emotional healing.

[urban-scribe.livejournal.com]

always bringing the science

[snozzcumberpie.livejournal.com]

agree 100% it was good to hear someone else say what i've been working on coming to terms with myself :D

i come from a long line of big latinas (genetic fat + low metabolism). my mom is always going on diets, when i was younger both her and my dad put me on special diets and constantly told me how fat i was. i wasn't really fat, just developed early for my age and i was pretty physically active. so i developed an eating disorder - overeating - as a form of rebellion i guess. at 16-18 my parents had me on prozac and phen-fens.

i've always tried to think of weight control not so much about the weight, but about maintaining balance for your body. usually if i'm excersizing regularly and eating healthy, it's easier for me to deal emotionally with my eating disorder.

it is something i struggle with, the manifestation of A LOT OF self issues no doubt. so anyways thanks for the post :D

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

Eating as a coping mechanism is pretty common, especially if your people make hella good food :P I know I did it whenever I was angry or scared.

I think a good part of it has been just choosing to still eat things I like, just healthier stuff. That way, I'm not changing my diet hella or eating stuff I'm not into. I don't feel like I'm punishing myself or having to "be on a program".

[maerhys.livejournal.com]

Ever since I stopped eating to deal with anxiety, my eating looks a LOT like your 1-5 and all of a sudden I have some weight loss, not even trying and definitely not triggering to my ED.

Great post, btw. I wish I could see more like it on this topic.

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about talking about it for a hot minute, but I know talking about weight loss is pretty triggering for a lot of folks. As you can see, the steps aren't that hard, but if you don't knock out the emotional stuff around it, you're just trading one problem for another.

[maerhys.livejournal.com]

if you don't knock out the emotional stuff around it, you're just trading one problem for another.

Exactly. For me the emotional stuff was all about making my life small, "more managable." Now I have some of the emotional issues taken care of and life if BIG and food is just yummy and I can have some now... or later... or whenever.

[cocijo.livejournal.com]

I've dropped 30 pounds this summer--in about two months (but to rub it in I am 5 years younger then you, that is if your about to turn 30 and I'm assuming your 29.) Anyhoo, what I did was I took what I was eating and I cut it in half--portions. Then, after two weeks I took those portions and cut it in half until I was eating proper portions. Since I wanted to shrink my stomach organ, rather then shrink the actual physical stomach (since that'll come later!)

While I did that, I've been exercising by walking and riding a bike.

A lot of people crash diet--I did and I lost 30 pounds three years ago. I was 160 then, and then I had a couple of burritos and without even looking at it, I was up to 230. So, I don't recommend crash diets to anyone, nor do I recommend diets to anyone. Since most health-professionals will agree that dieting is a facade, it's a lifestyle change.

Thankfully, the low-carb diet fad is now receding. (Now the "new diets" are all about five small meals a day to prolong hunger. Personally, so long as you have a carb, fat, and protein at every meal--the healthy variations of them that is--you can't go wrong.)

Keep it up!

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

I've generally had a rock-solid stable weight for most of my life- it never would make fast changes, so even to knock out 10 a month is huge changes for me. That and the fact I've got a bruised heel that's kept me from serious walking the last 3 weeks, I'm still doing great.

[animikwaan.livejournal.com]

sounds about like me (http://animikwaan.livejournal.com/651027.html). i had issues initially posting about my diet. for similar reasons. including the fact that i have a lot of "fat activists" on my f list -- which, is enlightening, but -- i have a hard time jumping on the bandwagon. i haven't read enough to understand how/where health comes in to the conversation, if at all. like is it a body image discussion that does not include health? and yeah, given the high rate of diabetes among native people, i have no desire to fuck with that. keeping my weight below a dress size 10 at my height is about the max i think i want to go.

[cocijo.livejournal.com]

Ive always looked at it as a health, not body image. That's, I guess, an added bonus? /shrug/ I just like to feel healthy...

[cocijo.livejournal.com]

Post pictures!

(I was just generally talking about the current diet fads and health talk and what not. I feel as though you took offense to it, but it could be my over active imagination.)

I've had a split heel for the past two weeks from doing squats without shoes on. Not my most shining moment, but w/e.

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

Oh, no offense. I'm just giving context. Some folks weight jump up and down easily, some don't, different metabolisms.

Don't sweat pictures, we'll probably game sometime in the future, right?

[nha-hang-chay.livejournal.com]

word. congrats on that man.

[locke61dv.livejournal.com]

Congrats, and a heartfelt thanks for the wisdom. About the emotional comfort vs food thing... yeah.

I was doing pretty good at trying ot keep my diet stuff in check last summer, then in September I got manage-y stuff pu ton my plate, so I let myself slack to cope; then in December, the building caught fire; and I'll leave it there, but I found it easy to deal with one fire at a time, and let myself have that bad habit to lean on.

I'm not sure which of the triumverate to take down first - the diet? the coffee? the general psych health? - but the post has given me some food for thought at least.